Live feed from Iceland volcano – This is so cool (hot) that I didn’t want to wait for my daily post to share it. Enjoy. @verityjx @BeckePhysics @somafm
Share this:
Author Archive
Live Feed from the Iceland Volcano – Special Post
Sunday, March 21st, 2021Three Options To School Your Child at Home by Craig Middleton
Sunday, March 21st, 2021
Three Options To School Your Child at Home by Craig Middleton explains how you can allow your child to learn from home without having to be a teacher yourself. If you are not happy with your local public school options you should look into the options that Craig has researched for you.
Introduction
- Deciding to school your children at home can be frightening. Making critical decisions about your children’s education can seem daunting. With the growth of online learning environments, you can be assured that you will be able to access world-class educational options that will set your children up for success. You’ll just need to decide what kind of homeschooler you want to be. Here are a few options.
Online Public School
- Many parents make the decision to homeschool because they want to remove their children from the physical public school environment. Perhaps they are living in an area with substandard schools or maybe their child is dealing with a situation like bullying or emotional challenges that makes attending their local school unsustainable. If this sounds like you, you may be surprised to discover that you can school from home without actually being a homeschooler. Many states participate in online public school programs that will allow your child to continue their public school education from the comfort and safety of your home. Amazingly, most of these programs are completely free of charge and include all materials such as books and even a computer.
- Schools like K12 and Connections Academy are online extensions of your public school system. They offer a very good traditional curriculum in an online environment. If you are happy with a traditional approach to your child’s education, online public schools utilize online and offline materials often using some type of virtual desktop services that will allow your child to access their lessons from anywhere on any device. Your child’s grades will be maintained for you and they will receive a diploma upon successful graduation.
Accredited Distance Programs
- If you are not happy with a standard public school education but are still looking for a program that offers a full curriculum with teacher support and records maintenance, an accredited distance program may be the right fit for you. Online schools such as Oak Meadow or Laurel Springs are fully realized, complete programs that are accredited, and also offer a diploma upon completion. Courses will follow a fairly traditional sequence but can be more in-depth and creative. Technically, if your child is enrolled with a distance program full time, he or she is not considered a homeschooler but rather a private school student.
- This can also be a great choice if you have particular religious interests or child development philosophies. For example, Oak Meadow is influenced by the Waldorf method of education, and Abeka Academy offers an education based on Christian principles. If it is important for you that a particular belief system or teaching methodology is incorporated into the curriculum, an accredited distance program that caters to your preferences can be a wonderful choice.
A-La-Carte Options
- If you prefer a more eclectic education for your children you might want to consider building their curriculum yourself. You might feel comfortable teaching history on your own, but find the idea of teaching trigonometry daunting. In this case, online sites can be the answer to all your concerns. Sites like Khan Academy or Time 4 Learning offer just about every core subject you can imagine. They use high-quality video lessons and assessments that can take the weight of difficult subjects off of your shoulders. Prices for these services vary greatly.
- Khan Academy is completely free of charge, whereas Time 4 Learning is fee-based, but even the fee-based models are usually reasonable in cost. It is important to note that sites such as these are not usually accredited and it will be up to you to keep records and assign grades for your child’s work. This is actual homeschooling and you will need to find out your state’s requirements and align yourself with state laws.
- The reasons why a parent chooses to school their child at home vary widely and you need to investigate yours to choose the best path for your family. Regardless of what kind of education you wish for your child, there are many online resources that can help you be sure that they are receiving the best education possible.
Craig Middleton
- Craig is a New York City-based retired business consultant, who is an expert in education and cultural trends. He has a Masters of Business Administration and a Masters in Education from St. Johns and loves sharing his knowledge on the side through his writing. If you have any questions or comments you can direct them to Craig at craigmiddleton18@gmail.com.
Share this:
Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation by Steven Johnson
Tuesday, March 16th, 2021
Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation by Steven Johnson tracks the innovation process through history and shows what ingredients promote a creative climate. From Darwin to the World-Wide-Web we see how individuals, networks, markets, and open-source projects have forged our modern world. Anyone interested in history and/or science should add this to their bookshelf. Every school and professional development library should too.
Introduction: Reef, City, Web
- We start with Darwin discovering that coral reefs can harbor uncountable numbers of species compared to the fewer life forms found in surrounding waters. Then we visit Kleiber’s law which states that the number of heartbeats per lifetime tends to be stable from species to species. Bigger animals just take longer to use up their quota and therefore live longer. When Geoffrey West investigated whether Kleiber’s law and applied it to cities he found that as cities get bigger, creativity per capita increases. Using data like R&D budgets and patents he found that a city ten times larger than its neighbor was seventeen times more innovative and a city fifty times bigger was 130 times more innovative. This is also true for the biological diversity of coral reefs.
- Here we meet the 10/10 rule which states that it takes about ten years for a new innovation to be developed and ten more years for it to be widely accepted. Innovations like color TV, HDTV, AM radio, Video Tape players, CD and DVD players, and GPS navigation all followed that rough time lime. The same was true for the graphical user interface on computers and most software like word processors and spreadsheets. Running counter to the 10/10 rule was Youtube. It went from idea to mass market in two years creating the 1/1 rule. Like YouTube, good ideas want to connect, combine, and cross conceptual borders. They want to complete each other as much as they want to compete.
1. The Adjacent Possible
- The idea for the original baby incubator happened when someone saw how baby chicks were kept warm at a zoo. When modern incubators costing $40,000 were sent to developing counties, however, they soon broke and no one knew how to fix them. An MIT professor named Timothy Prestero got the idea of building incubators using local technology and parts. Since locals in most developing countries could repair cars, he used spare auto parts and his invention was a great success. In many ways, our good ideas are constrained by the parts and skills that surround them.
- The concept of the adjacent possible states that in a given environment there are only so many new things that can be created. In Earth’s early atmosphere, for example, the simple molecules could only create so many more complex molecules, but as they did so further expansion became possible. This fairly describes how evolution works. It also explains why big cities and reefs are more innovative as there are more adjacent possibles. Throughout history, major inventions have happened in multiple places. This is because they couldn’t happen until the parts were available. The trick to having good ideas is to get more parts on the table.
2. Liquid Networks
- A good idea is a network of novel nerve connections and they wouldn’t happen if the nerve connections in our brain weren’t plastic and capable to changing. The new idea also has to be part of the adjacent possible. Since all you have to generate ideas are your genes and your environment, this explains why some environments generate more good ideas than others.
- After explaining why life is based on the connections of the carbon atom and the necessity of water, Steven extends the ideas of why cities produce innovations. A graphic shows the key innovations that occurred prior to the rise of cities and after and there is no contest even though cities haven’t been around that long compared to humans. The Italian Renaissance is an example of how cities and trade promote innovation. The excess wealth they created also promoted the arts.
- The studies of Kevin Dunbar in the early 1990s showed that ideas are more likely to emerge during meetings than in isolation. The results of one person’s reasoning out loud can become the inputs for another person’s reasoning. When people realized this they started designing buildings that would promote more interaction between people. Total open environments don’t seem to work as people don’t like them. The current idea is to have flexible environments where people can get together (conference rooms) and where people run into each other (water coolers). It’s also good to have multiple disciplines in the same building as innovations often happen at disciplinary boundaries.
Share this:
How To Keep Your Children Engaged in Online Learning by Craig Middleton
Friday, March 5th, 2021
How To Keep Your Children Engaged in Online Learning by Craig Middleton offers important advice for parents dealing with homebound children engaged in remote learning. By following his advice you can make remote learning more effective and enjoyable. Good luck.
Inroduction
- Many schools have had to move to online-only or hybrid instruction as a matter of necessity over the past year. There have been some troubling stories about how this model has affected students, showing that they have suffered because of a lack of socializing with their friends. Some have reported a decrease in motivation.
- On the other hand, some young people thrive in an online learning environment, even preferring it to in-person instruction. This may be based on many different factors, such as the child’s temperament or relationships with peers. However, it does offer hope that online learning can be more successful and less stressful even for those who struggle with it. Researchers have been looking for ways to help keep children engaged in an online classroom. Here are some of the ideas they’ve come up with.
- Try to connect what your child is learning to something concrete and relatable whenever possible. For example, if you’re learning about different energy sources, tell your child about the top solar companies in the US and explain how they put what your child is learning to good use. If your child can see that what he or she is learning has practical, real-life applications, it is more likely to keep his or her interest. Children hate the feeling that they are wasting time learning something that is not useful to them.
- With online learning, you may bear more of the responsibility for your child’s education than when your child receives in-person instruction. However, no matter what learning model you use, your child’s education is always a partnership between you and his or her instructors. When instruction takes place at home, keeping in close contact with your child’s teachers is more important than ever before.
- It is always important to acknowledge a child’s academic accomplishments”. It is even more vital to encourage those that happen in a setting in which the child may not be comfortable. Whenever your child completes an assignment through distance learning, provide some positive feedback. This can be something intangible, such as a few words of praise, or something more concrete, such as a sticker. It doesn’t have to be something elaborate or expensive, just something that communicates to your child, “I know this isn’t easy for you, and I appreciate the hard work you’re putting into it.”
- Elementary kids get recess several times a day, while older kids get gym class. Your child’s online learning day should include some time for him or her to get up, move around, maybe even go outside if the weather permits it. When you schedule this depends a lot on your child’s learning style and preferences, but many kids settle down to concentrate better after some activity. If you find that a change of position helps your child concentrate better, you should encourage this, within reason. Standing up helps some kids to concentrate better, but you should not allow your child to adopt a habit of poor ergonomics because this could cause problems later in life.
- Schoolwork doesn’t have to be endless drudgery. There are many ways to make learning fun. If you’re having difficulty coming up with ideas on your own, the internet gives you access to thousands of them. Online games from educational sources are designed to teach a wide range of important concepts in an entertaining way. You may be able to take a virtual field trip to many educational places, such as aquariums, botanical gardens, museums, and zoos. Don’t limit yourself to local places; these tours are available from all over the world.
- Part of the reason that some children thrive in distance learning is that the schedule can be tailored to fit their needs. If your child is having difficulty understanding, you can slow down the pace. If your child is frustrated, you can take a break. If your child is very engaged, you can skip or postpone a break to keep up the momentum. Above all, be patient with your child and with yourself. Adjusting to distance learning takes time.
- Craig is a New York City-based retired business consultant, who is an expert in education and cultural trends. He has a Masters of Business Administration and a Masters in Education from St. Johns and loves sharing his knowledge on the side through his writing. If you have any questions or comments you can direct them to Craig at craigmiddleton18@gmail.com.
Connect Learning to Something Concrete
Keep in Touch With Your Child’s Teachers
Provide Positive Feedback
Encourage Activity
Make Learning Fun
Set Your Own Schedule
Craig Middleton
Share this:
Six Creative Homeschool Lessons For Your Pre-Teen by Craig Middleton
Thursday, February 25th, 2021
Six Creative Homeschool Lessons For Your Pre-Teen by Craig Middleton may even work for your teenagers. Keeping kids engaged and ready to learn at home can be a challenge. You’ll need to make sure that you keep your child’s attention by mixing it up and involving some creative lessons. Here are six lessons to try in your homeschool curriculum to keep your kids excited while they learn.
1. Build A Solar Oven
- Learning about energy and about how the sun can power things like solar panels gives your child an inside look at renewable energy sources. You can make a solar oven easily out of a leftover pizza box and a few other supplies you probably have on hand. While you’re building you can discuss with your children why certain materials are used. You’ll use some aluminum foil to reflect the sun’s rays toward the inside of your oven and how black construction paper on the bottom can hold in heat to begin warming your food. After your project is completed, you can use it to make a fun afternoon snack like s’mores.
2. Design A Building
- If you want to teach a little bit about construction and engineering, have your kids design their own buildings. There are a variety of ways to do this sort of project. You could build with blocks or Legos, draw out a design, or even utilize a design program on your computer. Or you can make a day of it by combining all these elements from design to construction. Your student will learn about the process of design as well as about problem-solving while they try to bring their design to life.
3. Invent A Game
- Get those creative juices flowing by leading your kids in inventing their own game. If you want to keep it quick and simple, help them come up with a new card game with their own rules. If you want to get fancier, take an old board game you don’t use anymore and completely reinvent it. Your students can cover the existing board with construction paper to design the playing board. Use some cardstock to create cards with instructions. Find some fun knick-knacks around the house to use as playing pieces.
4. Do Some Time-Lapse Photography
- Time-lapse photography projects can be simple and short, or you can make it into an entire unit. Using an old webcam you can set up what you want to record and set the camera to take photos at pre-determined intervals. You could do something short-term such as recording leaves blowing on the trees in your yard for a few hours or longer-term like recording a daily photo of a plant sprouting. Once you have your photos you can help your kids put them together into a time-lapse video. This may even spark other photography-related projects like animation or a scrapbook.
5. Go On A Field Trip
- A field trip is a great way to sneak in a lot of learning while you’re having fun. Research some possible locations in your area and reach out to them to see if they offer any special informational tours you can sign up for. If you don’t have time for an extended outing, you can make even a trip to the grocery store into a lesson. Teach your kids about math, budgeting, nutrition, and meal-planning while you shop for what you need.
6. Bake A Cake
- Baking can teach your kids about math, measuring and chemical reactions while also teaching them valuable life skills. They’ll learn about following directions in a recipe to get the desired outcome. Once their sweet treat is baked and cooled they can get creative decorating it. Then at the end of the lesson, they can enjoy the fruits of their hard work by taste-testing their cake. Getting your kids active and involved is simple if you get a little innovative. Letting them get involved and engage in these hands-on projects will not only let them learn but also keep them entertained.
Craig Middleton
- Craig is a New York City-based retired business consultant, who is an expert in education and cultural trends. He has a Masters of Business Administration and a Masters in Education from St. Johns and loves sharing his knowledge on the side through his writing. If you have any questions or comments you can direct them to Craig at craigmiddleton18@gmail.com.
Share this:
